Assembling rack



March 4, 1941. c. D. REED Erm.

ASSEMBLING RACK Original Filed April 21, 1938 (uid Patented Mar. 4, 1941PATENT OFFICE ASSEMELING RACK Claude D. Reed and Robert L. Riley,Lebanon, Pa.,

assignors to Bethlehem Steel Company, a, corporation of PennsylvaniaOriginal application April 21, 1938, Serial No. 203,306. Divided andthis application April 12,

i939, serial No. 267,525

(Cl. iso-si) 7 Claims.

This invention relates to assembling racks for use in forming bundles ofrods or the like arranged and bound together in spaced relation and ismore especially adapted for assembling bundles of sucker rod sectionsused in oil wells which have enlarged and threaded end portionsI It isnecessary that the threaded ends of the sucker rod sections should befully protected at all times during the shipping operation and hadling,otherwise difliculty in assembling may be experienced in the eld or thethreads yat the coupling joints might fail during the pumping operation.

To protect these threaded end portions of the sucker rods a coupling isusually threaded on 2U one end of each rod and a cap on the oppositeend.

Sucker rods on account of their enlarged end portions and the couplingsand caps for protecting the said threaded end can not be shipped looseor bundled directly together as the intermediate portions ofthe rodswould become bent or twisted during shipment or handling.

As shown in the drawing the sucker rods are adapted to be assembled insets of wooden spacing blocks and bound together at spaced intervals toform bundles in which the rods are arranged in Vertical and horizontalrows held per' fectly straight with the ends and intermediate portionsin spaced relation to each other in such a manner as to obviatescratches and abrasions and prevent relative longitudinal and lateralmovement of the rods in the bundle during handling and shipment.

One of the objects of our invention relates to the manner of holding thesets of wooden spacing blocks in spaced vertically aligned positionduring the formation of the bundle.

Another object of our invention relates to the manner of assembling thevertically aligned rows of spacing blocks so they can be easily andquickly bound together at the end of the assembling operation. p

With the foregoing and other objects in View, the invention will be morefully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

Referring now to the accompanying sheet of drawings which forms a partof this specification and on which like characters 'of reference indi-,1 cate like parts:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the bundle assembling rack with parts ofthe longitudinally extending angular side frame members broken away toallow the figure to be drawn on a larger scale; 5

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one of the guiding brackets of theassembling rack for holding the spacing blocks during the formation ofthe bundle, but drawn on a larger scale than in Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the assembling rack taken on theline 3-3 of Fig. 2 and showing part of the assembled bundle in dottedlines.

Referring now to the various characters of,15 reference on the drawing:f i

The numeral I indicates the sucker rods, and 2 a plurality of woodenspacing blocks adapted to be vertically arranged in sets and each havingkerfs or notches 3, the contour of which may 2O be rectangular, V-shapedor curved, cut in one side in spaced relation to each other for receiving the sucker rods. v

For illustration we have shown the assembling rack adapted for holdingfive vertically ar- 15 ranged sets of spacing blocks in forming a bundleof rods, but this number of sets of spacing blocks may be varied ifdesired.

The assembling rack 4 comprises a pair of longitudinally extending sideframe angular mem- 30 bers 5 connected at spaced intervals by means oftransversely extending plates 5 having five sets of side guide bracketsl, reinforced on their vouter sides by means of vertically extendingangles 8 which are adapted to form supporting legs 35 for the assemblingrack, and on the inside by vertical angular guides 9 for engaging oneside of theends of the sets of spacing blocks 2 during the formation ofthe bundle. Apair of spaced iiat plates I0 are welded to the tops ofeach of 4.3 the side longitudinally extending angular frame` members 5adjacent to each Vertical angular guide 9, between which straps Il areinserted before the bottom spacing block for each set is placed in theassembling raakt.

The bottom spacing block for each of the sets` of spacing blocks withtheir kerfs 3 uppermost are then inserted in position above each of thestraps Il and pairs of spaced flat plates lll, with their side endsengaging the vertical angular 50 guides 9, as indicated in Figs. 2 and3. Operators at opposite ends of the assembling rack then insert ahorizontal row of sucker rods in the kerfs 3, and then add anotherspacing block abo-ve each bottom block with their kerfs 3 uppermost Y..55

and then assemble anotherv horizontal row of sucker rods I in the kerfs3. Thisoperation is repeated until the desired number of horizontal rowsof rods is obtained. A top spacing block is then placed over the top ofeach set of spacing blocks, which may be a plain block without kerfs ora similar block turned over so that the keris will be disposed in thelower surface of the block. As illustrated the spacing blocks 2 are allduplicates and are each formed with ten kerfs which are substantiallythe same width as each of the sucker rods I and about half the'depth ofthe same and all spaced an equal distance apart both horizontally andvertically andv arranged to form a bundle comprising eight horizontalrows of sucker rods of ten each and. ten vertical rows of eight each.When this bundle of eighty rods i has been assembled, as shown in fulland dotted lines in Fig. 3, bent metal angle pieces I2 are placed overthe upper and lower corners of the assembled top and bottom spacingblocks of each set and the ends of the straps I I are then brought upover the tops of the sets of spacing blocks and' a sealing joint I3inserted thereon, the ends of the straps are then stretched to bind thespacing block tightly together by means of a suitable machine adaptedfor this purpose and the seals crimped by slitting the opposite sideedges as at I4 and bending a portion downwardly as shown and describedmore clearly in our copending application above mentioned. The strapsare further secured to the top spacing blocks by means of staples I5.

After the bundle has been assembled and bound by means of straps it ishoisted by means of a ytraveling crane and a pair of lifting devices andtransported to a car or to any other desired location, and the operationabove described may then be repeated.

For illustration we have described our inven tion as a rack particularlyadapted for use in assembling and bundling sucker rods. We wish itunderstood, however, that we do not limit ourselves to sucker rods as itis equally applicable for other kinds of rods or bars which it isdesired to form and bind in bundles in a similar manner.

Although we have shown and described ourv invention inv considerabledetail, we do not wish to be limited to the exact and specific detailsshown and described, but may use such substitutions, modifications orequivalents thereof, as are embraced within the scope of our invention,or as pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patentis:

l. An assembling rack for forming bundles of rods, comp-risinghorizontally disposed angular side members, each having a vertical andinwardly horizontally extending leg, connecting plates secured to theinwardly horizontally extending' legs ofthe side members at intermediatepoints for holding the'side members in spaced parallel relation, aplurality of pairs of guide brackets arranged in pairs .in transversealignment vrigidly secured t0 the vertically extending legs andextending upwardlyfrom the side members; and

vertical reinforcing angles` secured to the outside of each of the guidebrackets.

2. An assembling rack for forming bundles ci rods, comprising a pair ofhorizontally disposed angular side members, each having vertical andinwardly horizontally extendingk legs, connecting l plates secured to'the inwardly horizontally extending legs at intermediate points forholding the side members in spaced parallel relation, a plurality ofguide brackets secured to each of the vertical legs of the side membersandl extending upwardly therefrom, said brackets secured to one sidemember being in transverse alignment with each of the brackets securedto thel other side member, and a vertically extending aligning guidesecured to each of the guide brackets.

3. An assembling rack for forming bundles of rods, comprising a pair ofhorizontally disposed angular side members having vertical and inwardlyhorizontally disposed leg portions, plates at intermediate pointssecured to the inwardly horizontally disposed leg portions for holdingthe side -members in spaced parallel relation, a plurality of guidebrackets rigidly secured to each of the vertical side legs of the sidemembers and extending upwardly therefrom, said brackets securedto oneside member being in transverse alignment with each of the bracketssecured to thefother side member, a vertically extending angularaligning guide secured tothe inner face of each of the guide brackets,and vertical reinforcing angles secured to the outer face of each of theguide brackets.

4An assembling rack for forming a bundle of rods or the like secured`together in. spaced relation by means of a plurality of verticallyarranged sets of spacing blocks bound together by means of straps,comprising a pair of angular horizontally disposed side members, eachhaving vertical and inwardly extending legs, connecting plates securedto the inwardly extending legs at intermediate points for holding theside members in spaced' parallel relation, a plurality of verticallyextending at plates forming guide brackets rigidly secured. to thevertical legs ci 'the side members andV extendingupwardly therefrom,said brackets secured to one side member being in transverse alignmentwith eachr of the brackets secured to the other side member, avertically extending angle securedF to the inner face of each of theupwardly extending guide brackets for aligning the spacing blocks, and apair of spaced flat plates secured vto the tops of each ofY the sidemembers adjacent to each guide bracket adapted to hold the bindingstraps in position.

5. An assembling rack for forminga .bundle `of rods or the like securedtogether in spaced ing plates secured to the inwardly extending legs atintermediate points for holding the side mem bers in, spaced parallelrelation, a plurality of guide brackets rigidly secured tothe verticallegs l of the side members-and arranged in pairs trans versely of theassembling rack for aligning-each set of spacing blocks, and a` pair efspaced flat plates secured to the tops of saidside members forsupporting the lower spacing block of each set and between which bindingstraps are adapted to be inserted and held in position.

6. An assembling rack for bundling a plurality of rods secured in spacedrelation by means of a series of vertically. arranged sets of spacingblocks bound together by'means of straps, comprisi-ng angularlongitudinal sidemembers, each having vertically and inwardly`-extending legs, plates for connecting the inwardly extending legs of theside members together at spaced ln'- tervals, guide brackets riveted tothe vertical legs arranged transversely in pairs at a plurality ofpoints valong the longitudinal side members, and a vertically extendingguide angle secured to the inside of each guide bracket adapted tovertically align the ends of the spacing blocks during the assembling ofthe bundle. y

7. An assembling rack for forming a bundle of rods or the like securedin spaced relation by means of a series of vertically arranged sets ofspacing blocks each bound together by means of a metal strap, comprisinglongitudinal angular side members each having vertically and inwardlyextending legs, plates for connecting the inwardly extending legs of theside members together at spaced intervals, guide brackets arrangedtransversely in alignment in pairs at a plurality of points along theside members, vertically eX- tending angles for reinforcing the outsideof the guide brackets adapted to form supporting legs for the assemblingrack, a pair of spaced at plates secured to the top of each side memberadjacent to each guide bracket between which binding straps are adaptedto be inserted, and a vertically extending guide angle secured to theinside of each guide bracket adapted to vertically align the ends of thespacing blocks during the assemblage of the bundle.

CLAUDE D. REED. ROBERT L. RILEY.

